The People of the State of New York are the plaintiffs in this case against the defendant Luis Pantojas. This case is being heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Bronx County, Part C. The People have moved for an order to amend the direction…
Articles Posted in Criminal Procedure
Court Discusses Plea Bargain
An undercover police officer posed as a buyer of cocaine which was clandestinely sold at a fast food joint. The undercover police officer was able to buy six small bags of cocaine on six separate occasions. With the cocaine bought from the fast food joint, the police officers had probable…
Court Discusses Rape by Forcible Compulsion
Defendant pleaded guilty to the sole count of superior court information charging him with third-degree rape for engaging in sexual intercourse with a person less than 17 years old. The majority upholds an assessment of 10 points for forcible compulsion even though defendant never was charged with rape by forcible…
Court Decides Jurisdiction in Drug Crime Case
In this criminal case, the location of the premises where the alleged drug crime transactions took place is 151 West 228th Street. At the Grand Jury presentation the Assistant District Attorney elicited testimony from the undercover police officers who participated in the sales of drugs and in the arrests of…
Defendant Brings Motion to Surppress Motion for Incriminating Statements
Defendant was indicted for second degree murder, second degree assault, and second degree weapon possession in connection with a shooting in Brooklyn. One man was shot to death and another was wounded. Thereafter, the Defendant was arrested for a drug crime in Manhattan where he was represented by counsel for…
Defendant Claims Court Erred Under SORA Guidelines
A man lived in his mother’s house with his sister who was a minor. One day, the man chanced upon his sister in the bathroom of their house. The man tried to rape his sister. The sister resisted and was able to escape from her brother. She reported the incident…
Claimant Claims She was Incarcerated too Long
The claimant who is now 54 years old, has a long history of drug abuse and a lengthy criminal history, consisting primarily of drug crime offenses. Lapidus dropped out of school in the seventh or eighth grade because she was having problems at home, and began using speed and heroin…
Defendant Moves to Suppress Physical Evidence
An undercover policeman, equipped with a hidden transmitter, entered a social club and, for fifty dollars, purchased cocaine from a man in the front room. He left the club and radioed his backup team. Because the transmission was garbled, they understood only that he had made a buy. The sergeant…
Defendants Court Had Improper Jurisdiction in Rape Case
On December 10, 1980, two men armed with a shot gun entered a fast food restaurant in Nassau County. They threatened the employees with bodily harm if they did not hand over the cash in the cash box. When the two female employees handed to the two armed men all…
Defendant Contends Court in Violation of 5th Amendment
The facts of these “buy-and-bust” cases are straightforward. In this case, an undercover narcotics officer approached a man entering a store in Manhattan and asked where he could purchase drugs. Without answering, a the man walked over to defendant, asked him if he had “anything” and told him that the…